Playing-ball.



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

FRANCIS H. RICHARDS, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE l KEMPSHALL MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF ARLINGTON, NEW JERSEY,

A CORPORATION OF JERSEY.

PLAYINGQEALL.

SPECIFICATION forming part or Letters Patent No. 712,414, dated october es, 1902. Application led nly 22, y19021. 'Serial No. 116,500. (No model.)

T a/ZZ whom it may concern: i Be it known that I, FRANCIS H. RICHARDS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have inventedcertain newand useful Improvements-in f Playing-Balls, of which the following isaspecification.

y This invention relates to playing-balls, especially those used in golf; and its object is 1o to furnish at low cost a durable ball which has great iying power but is dead under a light blow. In the drawings forming a part of this speciiication, Figure 1 is an enlarged sectional I5 View of a segment of a ball made in accord ance with my improvements. Fig. 2 is a part` sectional view of a completed ball. Fig. 3 is a part-sectional view illustrating one kind of core or inner ball. Fig. 4 is a part-sectional 2o view illustrating a stage in completing a core` Fig. 5 is a view of the preferred form of rubber shell employed in the interior of the core, this View showing the shell in its normal orl unexpanded condition. Throughout the views similar parts are des-y ignated by similar characters of reference. Upon a shell l of solid vrubber I wind facewise and continuously in derent directions; a strip 2 of paper to form a core or inner ball A. l I prefer to use all-rope Manila paper' in a strip or strips about three-eighths of an; inch Wide, which I wind in a state of high tension. Owing to the thinness of the windings;` and to the tension of the paper I make a ballf or core which is solid, and consists of a' multitude of thin layers tensioned in all directionsg Before the paper is wound on the hollow 3 within the rubber shell l may be filled by a .center piece 4, of gutta-percha or other material,` which may be injected through a hollow stein? 5, formed for convenience upon the shell l. In some cases, however, a center piece 4 need not be provided before the winding` on of the` paper. g 45 Owing to its compactness, as well as to the tensioned conditionof its layers, the core A' is highly, resilient under a heavy blow, this quality being increased by the presence of the soft-rubber sphere or layer l within the pasas being appliedto the fluent gutta-percha by means of a piston. The pressuremay be made very high, to the end not only to tension the rubber shelll, and thereby increase its liveliness, but `also to tension the paper windings practically to the limit or nearly to" the breaking-point, and compact them into a solid or highly-,compressed shell, which, by reason partly of its solidity and partly on account of its longitudinal tension, is extremely lively under a hard blow. thus formed I apply a shell 7, preferably of gutta-percha, and preferablyholding the core Aunder high compression. It will be observed that owing to the mo- -bility'of the tensioned soft-rubber shell 1n within the compressed paper-,wound sphere the latter is to some extent depressible, although owing to the solidity of said rubber -shell l and of the injected core 4, as well as to the tension of the paper layers, said ex-A panded paper shell A tends instantly upon 'being'depressed to recover its normal shape,

-tensioned paper sphere A with its solid mobile interior the whole ball tends instantly to recover its spherical form upon being dis- -torted by a blow, and hence the iiying power `ofthe ballis rendered phenomenal.

It will also be understood that the compressed Vsphere A is very hard and not much aected by a light blow, and that the same is also true of the shell 7, so that for putting the ball is dead, and hence desirable for the game.

Upon the core It will be perceived that the structure shown at Fig. 3 may be covered by a shell without first expanding the rubber and paper shells, although I prefer such expansion for the reasons given.

Variations in construction and other particulars may be resorted to within the scope of my invention, and portions of my improvements may be used withoutothers.

Having described my invention, I claiml. A playing-ball comprising strips of paper wound facewise andtensioned nearly to the breaking-point and forming a substantial sphere, and a cover of wear-resistin g material upon said sphere.

2. A playing-ball comprising a center piece of yielding material, windings of flat paper strip thereon tensioned nearly to the breaking-point and forming a substantial sphere, and a hard cover upon said sphere.

. 3. A playing-ball comprising a center piece of soft rubber, windings of at paper strip thereon tensioned nearly to the breakingpoint and forming a substantial sphere, and a cover ot` gutta-percha.

4. A playing-ball comprising a small sphere ot' hard material, a shell of soft rubber thereon, windings of at paper strip upon said rubber shell and tensioned nearly to the breaking-point, and a cover of gutta-percha holding said paper under compression.

5. A playing-ball comprising a sphere of tensioned rubber, windings of flat paper strip thereon and tensioned nearly to the breakingpoint, and a shell of plastic material.

6. A playing-ball comprising a small, hard body, a layer of tensioned rubber thereon, tense windings of flat paper strip forming a substantial layer upon said rubber layer, and a shell of plastic material holding said paper under compression.

7. A playing-ball comprising a compressed sphere consisting of tight windings of fiat paper strip, and a sphere of mobile material filling said paper sphere, and tending to eX- pand the sanne.

8. A playing-ball comprising a compressed sphere consisting of tight windings of flat paper strip, a sphere ot' mobile material filling said paper sphere, and a hard shell upon said paper sphere.

9. A playing-ball comprising a compressed sphere consisting of tight windings of dat paper strip, a sphere of mobile material filling said paper sphere and tending to expand the same, and a hard shell holding said paper sphere under com pression.

10. In a playing-ball, a sphere of paper distended by a core of plastic material injected thereinto, and a hard cover.

ll. In a playing-ball, a sphere of paper distended by mobile material injected thereinto, and a hard cover, said paper being in a state of compression between said injected substance and said cover.

12. In a playing-ball, a sphere of paper distended by gutta-percha injected thereinto.

13. In a playing-ball, tight windings of paper forming a substantial shell, said shell being distended by mobile material injected thereinto, anda hard cover upon said paper.

14. In a playing-ball, tight windings 01": fibrous material forming a substantial shell, said shell being distended by mobilematerial injected thereinto, and a Yhard cover holding said shell under compression.

l5. In a playing-ball, tight windings of paper strip forming a substantial shell,Y said shell being distended by a hard injected body, and a cover of gutta-percha holding said paper under compression.

16. In a playingball, a hard sphere of packed paper, and a sphere of distorted rubber within said paper sphere.

17. In a playing-ball, a sphere consisting of compressed layers of paper, a sphere of distended rubber under compression within said sphere, and a cover of wear-resisting material upon said paper sphere.

18. A playing-ball comprising a distorted rubber sphere, a sphere consisting of windings of flat paper strip tensioned nearly to the breaking-point, and a gutta-percha sphere.

19. A playing-ball comprising a gutta-percha cover and spheres of packed paper and distorted rubber held under compression by said cover.

20. A playing-ball comprising a gutta-percha cover and spheres of paper and distorted rubber held under compression by said cover; said paper consisting of tight at windings of paper strip.

2l'. In a playing-ball, a sphere of paper distended by plastic material injected thereinto, a sphere ot' soft yielding material intervening between said paper and said injected material, and a hard cover.

22. In a playing-ball, a sphere of paper distended by mobile substance injected thereinto, a sphere of soft rubber intervening between said paper and said injected material, and a hard cover.

23. In a playing-ball, a sphere of paper distended by mobile substance injected thereinto, an expanded sphere of soft rubber intervening between said paper and said injected material, anda hard cover holding said paper under compression.

24. In a playing-ball, a sphere consisting of tight windings of paper, said sphere being compressed and said windings distended by mobile material injected thereinto, and a hard cover.

25. In a playin g-ball, a sphere consisting of tight windings ot paper, said sphere being compressed and said windings distended by mobile material injected thereinto, a layer of mobile material intervening between said paper and said injected material, and a hard cover.

IOO

IIO

26. In a playing-ball, a cover of plastic material holding under compression an expanded layer of paper, an expanded layer of rubber, and a hard central body.

27. In afplayingball, a coverof gutta-perinjected thereinto, a tensioned layer of rubcha holdin g under compression an expanded ber intervening between said plastic material ro layer consisting of tight windings of paper,` and said shell, anda cover of gutta-percha an expanded layer of rubber, and a hard cenholding said paper under compression.

5 tral body. FRANCIS HQRICHARDS.

28. In a playing-ball, a substantial shell Witnesses: consisting of tight windings of papel' strip, B. C. STICKNEY,

said shell being distended by plastic material JOHN` O. SEIFERT. 

